PORTSMOUTH, Va., Jan. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, Jan. 7, CITGO Petroleum Corporation and local CITGO Marketer PAPCO Inc. presented Janay Washington, a third-grade teacher at Park View Elementary School, with $1,000 worth of school supplies as part of the CITGO Fueling Education Promotion. Washington was one of 109 teachers from elementary, middle and high schools within the CITGO marketing footprint who won customized school supplies that address the specific needs of their students and classroom.

"I crossed my fingers and just hoped that our class would be chosen," said Washington. "I am so impressed that CITGO and its locally owned gas stations and distributors would undertake such an ambitious program to help support education. Through the Fueling Education Promotion, my classroom received a number of supplies, including standardized testing visual aids, which are going to be instrumental in my lessons moving forward. My students and I are incredibly grateful for the generous donation we received from CITGO and PAPCO, and we plan to make good use of these wonderful supplies."

During their visit with Washington's class at Park View Elementary, CITGO Senior Territory Sales Manager Arnold Walton and PAPCO Branded Sales Director Steve Leisten helped eager students open the boxes of supplies and participated in the school's morning exercises.

"The CITGO Fueling Education Promotion reflects the mission of CITGO to have a real impact in the local communities in which it works, a goal uncommon among many large corporations," said Leisten. "It is a privilege to be able to award such a deserving group of students and staff with supplies that will improve their educational experience."

Through the CITGO Fueling Education Promotion, teachers, student teachers and PTA/PTO members could win $1,000 in school supplies for their classrooms that might otherwise be funded out of their own pockets. Three $1,000 winners were randomly selected from each of the 27 states in which the CITGO brand is present, as well as the District of Columbia. An additional 25 teachers that submitted entries through Instagram received $1,000 in supplies and a $100 CITGO Gift Card through a random drawing.

PAPCO is a leading petroleum solutions supplier in the Eastern United States and markets refined fuels, lubricants, risk management products and fuel card fleet management programs to a broad customer base, including industrial, retail, marine, commercial transportation companies (trucking, transit, railroad, marine) and federal, state and municipal government end users in the eastern United States. PAPCO backs its value-added services with its secure fuel supply capabilities through proprietary fuel storage locations and supply agreements with an established network of refiners, pipelines, terminals and transportation providers that have been expanding since 1976. PAPCO leverages more than 30 years of experience in petroleum hedging and product trading to offer innovative price risk management solutions, allowing fuel users to better manage operating budgets and fuel cost.

CITGO is committed to giving back to the local communities it serves through its network of locally owned CITGO locations. Local CITGO Marketers own and operate nearly 275 CITGO locations in Virginia, including approximately 60 locations in the greater Norfolk area, and are proud to support local organizations and educational institutions, including Park View Elementary School. For more information on the positive impact of the locally owned CITGO stations, visit www.fuelinggood.com.

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.